In case you missed the Oscars last night, host Jimmy Kimmel predictably lectured the country about politics, harped on leftism, went after Fox News and repeatedly made terribly unfunny jokes about Vice President Mike Pence and President Donald Trump.
“We don’t make films like ‘Call Me By Your Name’ for money. We make them to upset Mike Pence," Kimmel said.
Ahead of the big show Sunday night, Kimmel made it known he would engage in activism from the stage but according to the numbers, it didn't pay off.
From TheWrap:
Jimmy Kimmel’s return as Oscars host received an 18.9 rating in Nielsen’s overnight numbers from 8-11 p.m. ET, down 15.6 percent from his 2017 debut. Of course, the ABC special ran about 50 minutes after primetime’s cutoff, so these numbers are subject to some adjustment.
Last year’s Oscars landed a 22.4 rating in Nielsen’s overnight numbers, which count 56 metered markets. That was down 4.3 percent from 2016’s very preliminary numbers, when Chris Rock hosted.
Rock’s turn had already dipped 8 percent from its own predecessor.
The Oscars' ratings are on par with the politicized 60th annual Grammy Awardsearlier this year. That show's ratings also came came in at an all-time low.
The show, which ran a bloated three-and-a-half hours, was off an unfortunate 21 percent from 2017 in early numbers. Overnight returns from Nielsen Media give it a 12.7 rating among households — marking its biggest drop since the 2013, the year after the show swelled following the death of Whitney Houston.
Such a steep drop, however, could very well mean an all-time low for the calendar's biggest music awards show once updated numbers arrive.